SUMMARY/ABSTRACT: RESEARCH EDUCATION COMPONENT Alzheimer?s disease (AD) is the most common cause of dementia, affecting more than 5 million Americans. At the same time that the prevalence of AD is increasing, the number of new investigators in the US is decreasing, which may severely hamper our efforts to develop better diagnostic and treatment tools for AD and related dementias (ADRD). The goal of the Research Education Component (REC) of the Goizueta Alzheimer?s Disease Research Center (ADRC) at Emory is to support research educational activities that complement and enhance the training of the future workforce to meet the nation?s biomedical, behavioral and clinical needs in ADRD. We will achieve this goal by identifying and supporting the research education of junior investigators and trainees from diverse backgrounds and disciplines. In Aim 1, REC leadership and mentors will work with these trainees to develop and execute tailored educational plans for new and early stage investigators to advance towards independence in conducting AD-related research. In Aim 2, we will leverage Emory?s wealth of basic and clinical scientists as well as partner Atlanta-area institutions to identify, recruit and support the research training of new/early stage investigators and trainees from diverse backgrounds and disciplines, with special emphasis on URMs, to engage in AD-related research. In Aim 3, the REC leadership and external advisory committee will rigorously monitor and evaluate the trainees, mentors, and the overall program, and implement improvements when necessary. Success of the REC will result in rolling cohorts of new investigators with a focus on diversity to lead the next generation of ADRD research.